Edge of the abyss
by shadowwriter01
Summary: Cyclonus thoughts about the past. And in first line a certain former air commander. To a great part a seeker story. Cyclonus was Skywarp here.
1. Chapter 1

The Transformers are the property of hasbro.

**Edge of the abyss**

I was reborn in fire.

A new form, a new being, a new name.

"Cyclonus the warrior", that was the first thing I heard.

I saw the world through new eyes.

I saw a robot being burned to ashes.

I knew him once, this one. A seeker, grey, red and blue.

I remembered back. In another time and another life.

Once he was my brother, not anymore.

He left us to die in space. A single shot, Galvatron, recreated like me.

He, who seeked to let us die in the cold, now died in flames.

Fire, that gave us new life, ended his.

cx

A long time ago, he was different.

Starscream, young, intelligent, open minded, ambitious and talented.

We were created as three and many followed us.

Megatron formed the seekers created in our image into a army, against the Autobots who controlled Cybertron and we all had sworn to follow him.

We were the three best of them, the leading triad.

We were the symbol of the Decepticon empire in the air.

They gave our kind many names, seekers, skyraiders, death-bringers and angels of the sky.

But Starscream changed. War and loss got to him very fast.

It got to all of us. Thundercracker grew uneasy and full of doubts.

After some time he didn´t knew for what he fought anymore, only that he did.

I started to laugh about things.

I flew into walls and teleported away in the last second.

I used irony. I made practical jokes.

I tried to see the best in every possible situation.

I became the warrior with the mask of the clown, goofiness outside, steel underneath.

For to deal with the horror of millions years of war.

And I always stayed loyal to Megatron.

Starscream was the worst. He lost much in a short time.

His place in the Decepticon army filled the empty spot.

His quest for power replaced everything else.

The young mech I knew vanished and was replaced by a monster.

Talent turned into arrogance.

Ambition turned into unlimited powerhunger.

Intelligence turned into madness.

Even far beyond anything what a Decepticon was.

We are warriors, cold and brutal to our enemies.

We kill who stand in our way. We are ruthless.

We plan to conquer the galaxy.

We do whatever is necessary and we are proud of it.

But Starscream went farther.

He went on top by murdering our old air commander.

He made his way by killing Decepticons as like as Autobots.

Non participants, warriors or civilists without any difference.

For eons I saw Starscream destroying cities, bases and entire colonies.

He didn´t kill and wanted power only because he thought it was the right thing,

because he thought the strong should rule.

He did it to fill the empty place in himself.

It was an amok run, an never ending quest for power.

It could only end with Starscream as ruler over the universe or with the universe in ruins.

Starscream had fallen deep, into an abyss of hate, pain, madness and total destruction.

It was on this day, as he tried to destroy the planet earth, with us standing on it.

An entire planet, his own comrades, all were to die for his power.

Till then, I had still hope. From this day on, Starscream was dead for me. My brother was gone forever.

He didn´t stop.

He tried to drag earth into the sun. The humans, the Decepticons, the Autobots, everything.

He shot others in the back.

He caused death, chaos and destruction for 20 more years.

cx

He conspirated and caused Megatron, Skywarp, Thundercracker and three Insecticons to be thrown out in space. That was the last of his atrocities.

Now the fallen angel has been burned to ashes.

I look at the remains.

I feel nothing anymore.

I see the world with new eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Our new creator is a creature beyond any comprehension.

A creature that is our enemy. Like it was so often before.

Once again we were created as three and with many other alongside us.

Galvatron, me, Scourge and the Sweeps, meant to be a group, a leader and his followers.

But once again one of us has fallen into an abyss of violence, pain and madness.

Galvatron, the leader who had led us against the Autobots and Unicron, Megatron, the one who had led us for millions of years, had fallen.

Once again, one is no longer who he was before.

Were once was one, now there are two.

One rampaging for hours, causing senseless destruction. Unleashed, uncontrolled energy.

One determined, intelligent, charismatic and controlled. The true Galvatron. Often to see, but by far not always.

One who is letting warriors behind for his own twisted notions.

I see a Sweep falling in the atmosphere of the gas giant and Galvatron not trying to save him. Could he have even be saved? Or would the attempt only have sacrificed other warriors? Who knows.

One leader who is saving us all through observation and understanding.

I see the Autobots destroying the planet Paradron. But Galvatron looked through their scheme and warned us in time to leave.

That is the leader I remember, that is the leader I am loyal to. But he is not here the entire time.

It is like before and yet it is not.

With Starscream it was his own bitterness, his own ambition, his own emotions that drove him over the edge. That had dragged him from one act of violence to the other.

Yet Galvatron was manipulated by Unicron, rebuild, tortured into submission and forced to fight, fallen into a sea of molten plasma, damaged and what is damaged can also be repaired.

It had to. Forced into it, enslaved and pushed and not his own doing.

But not with Starscream.

The young Decepticon, once very promising, who was changed in only a short time into a single minded megalomaniac.

One who cared only about his own goals and was willing to sacrifice everybody and everything only for a short lived advantage. Destroying everything in his path.

One who was too blinded by his own greed and powerhunger that he didn´t see the problems he was bringing over himself. Who wanted to rule but destroyed the loyalty of everybody who once had it to him. Like Skywarp and Thundercracker.

And it ended all in failure and ashes.

One who nobody misses and nobody mourned. Not anymore.

Yes, I have no reason to mourn the one who killed my old self,

the one who tried several times before,

the one who tried to destroy earth along with us,

the one who send the Combaticons against us,

the one who killed Thundercracker.

Skywarp hated him and I have no reason to do otherwise.

At least that what I say every time to myself.

Yes, the situation reminds me.

Starscream had made his choice, but Galvatron didn´t.

This time I won´t just sit aside and let it happen. This time I have a chance.

I will support Galvatron.

I will watch him and I swear,

I will find a way to bring him back to who he was before.

XXCC

I have finally finished the second chapter. It has taken me longer than I first thought.

Originally I wanted to write two chapters for this story. I have however changed my mind and will write a third. A few of my ideas simply work better with another chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_The Decepticon concept of honour is very different from that of the Autobots and many other species are used to._

_Some of it´s basics are:_

_Don´t show cowardice in battle - unless it is a ruse to trick your enemies._

_Be always loyal to your leader - unless he is not worthy of your loyalty._

_Don´t shoot your enemy in the back - unless it is in battle._

_(The last line deserves some explanation. Battle in this sense means open battle, where entire groups of enemies are fighting each other. In a one to one fight, you are supposed to meet your enemy from the front, in a direct exchange of powers. But in battle, where everyone shoots everyone, such attempts would be foolish.)_

_So the essence of the philosophy is, strength and loyalty is good,_

_but strength and loyalty combined with cunning and trickery are ideal._

_Bludgeon, master of metallicato_

_xxx_

_A human philosopher had once said if you look into the abyss, the abyss looks also into you. _

_That is a good way to say it. The abyss, that is in our case the invisible line between the lust for battle and fighting as a duty for the cause and sheer violence and destruction only for the sake of itself._

_Anger, hate, uncontrolled aggression. And we do everything to separate ourselves from it, to not let this things go out of hand._

_Cyclonus, Decepticon second in command_

xxx

Starscream and Galvatron. Similar but still different.

Galvatron, consumed by his quest against the Autobots. But with him there had been long periods where he was completely normal. He listens, not always, but often. His normal self is always shining through, even if only for the ones who know what to look for.

Starscream, possessed by overthrowing Megatron. With him, it was different. The robot that I remember from the beginning of the war was gone. With him, you didn´t see it on the first look, it wasn´t an accident, it was slower, deeper, permanent corruption

xxx

Starscream, Galvatron and finally myself.

I know only all too well how they are feeling.

Because I know how it is to stand on the edge of the abyss too.

In every waking moment in my life, In the depth of my mind, the voice is in the background of my mind.

Whenever I´m unconcentrated, whenever I don´t put my mind into being who I am, who I want to be, I hear the voice.

Unicron, he did more than just change our appearance, he tried to reform us in his image.

He placed programs, thoughts, a part of him, deep in our minds.

He tried to make us what he wanted us to be.

Killers, cold, efficient, merciless, even more than we already had been before.

Cyclonus the warrior, Cyclonus the destroyer.

The only aim is conquest, the only pleasure is mayhem, the only cause is destruction.

No, I decide who I am, not some monster who had found us in space.

I had been loyal to Megatron because he had been our leader and gave my life, no the life of the one I had once been, a purpose.

I have been loyal to Galvatron because he had continued Megatron´s way. He defeated the Autobots and rebelled against Unicron.

I **am **loyal to Galvatron because I understand what he is struggling with and I know he can be cured.

I **am **loyal to Galvatron because he was the first to stand up against Unicron. He was brave enough to face the monster before anybody else did.

It may have been Rodimus Prime who had opened the Matrix, but it was Galvatron who went to Unicron with the intention to stop him.

It was Galvatron who brought the Matrix where the Autobot could get his hands on it in the first place.

It was Galvatron who defied Unicron´s orders and refused to destroy it in the first place.

I know he didn´t do it for me. He did it for his own freedom and only secondly for us others. Like a Decepticon should.

But I know he did it also for us. He also wanted to end the threat for Cybertron and free us, his loyal troops from Unicron´s influence.

Because of him I am free, because of him, I am still my own bot.

And I won´t forget this.

Since Torkulon, since my previously failed attempt to cure him, his state had gotten far better, stable. He has been making plans before, strategies, campaigns. It is nearly like before.

Galvatron is getting better. Soon, he could be completely cured.

And I will do everything to make sure that this will happen.

xxx

Some think I have taken my concept of honour too far, that it makes me less efficient as a Decepticon.

They don´t understand that it is my shield.

I give my enemies a fair chance whenever I can.

I have drawn Ultra Magnus back into a space ship, to keep him from dieing in space, one of our greatest enemies. But how can I let somebody die like I nearly did? Especially a great warrior who deserved better.

I give life and I take it.

And I try not to fall.

xxx

Starscream, yes, I understand you now better than ever before, because I know how it is to be you.

I know, should I give up and surrender to the voice inside me, I would become like you.

I guess that means you are my brother ones more.

I can not really feel sympathy for you, but I understand better how it is to be you then anybody else.

End


End file.
